Postmaster-General at Roxburgh

Mt Benger Mail, 8 April 1914, Page 3

Postmaster-General at Roxburgh

POST OFFICE OFFICIALLY

OPENED.

A SUCCESSFUL FUNCTION

For somo years past it has b®en felt that the local building, which had done duty ns a post olliee, was not commodious enough for the pn sent dav business, and that the office conveniencies were too limited for th growing requirements. Representations were made on several occasions for more up-to-date premises, and these til last were listened to by tho auth oiities, and the erection of a *'w post ollicfl authorised. Ihe contiact was duly let, Mr Christie being the successful tenderer, and the building was completed somo few months ago. Since being completed the otlice lias been in daily use, but the oftieiai opening has been deferred till such time as the l'ostmastei-Ueiioral could be in attendance. this event took place on Thursday afternoon, when the lion. R. 11. Rhodes, PostmasterGeneral, visited Roxburgh tor that

purpose. Tho weather, which vvas somewhat threatening, kept up well, and con seqiiQUtly there vvas a large gathering of the public present. i lie front ot the post otliia was decorated with bunting, a platform being erected in front of the building for the speakers. On the platform were 11 is Worship the Mayor (L. ii. Waigth, I s pi, Hon. R. 11. Rhodes, Mr li. Scott, M.P.. and Messrs .1. Loudon (President) of Dun edin Chamber of Commerce, •!. Rose (Chairman luapeka County Council), ,). Bennetts (member luapeka County Council i, T. .1. McCawe (Postmaster), J. Crow (chief clerk, felegrnph, IHineclin|, and TV. Crow (private secre taix to I'o.-t master-t ien. rnl!. 11 is Worship the Mayor presided, and in an appropriate speech welcomed the lMst master-General to Roxburgh, and congratulated liini on attaining such a high position in the Ministry. Th, matter of opening a country post oflkv was, perhaps, a small matter to him. but to the residents here it was a big th mg. Ihis was the seventh occasion on which they Lad opened a post oliic. during the past tiny years, but it xvathe first official opening they had ha i. He mentioned that it wa- maiiiK through the efforts of the Borough Council that they had obtained th new post otlice. When Sir .1. 0 ) Ward was in office ho had decided ti .have repairs made to the old build ing, but on the t ouneil objecting strongly to th'.s he promised that the C<ibinet would consider th,» erection oi a new post olliee, but he was out v oliice before it could In- carri d out. Tlie Mackenzie 'iovnnment aLo went out of otlice before the post olliee was granted, and the Massey ('.oveinnun' then came into otlice, and to-day the> were officially opening the post oliice. it made one want the less, and the. could, therefore, concentrate their el forts oa other important needs. lb had much pleasure in handing tin Hon. Mr Rhodes the key of the otlice. —(Applause). 'Hiii Hon. Postmaster r Ciencra thanked the Mayor and residents to. their cordial welcome, and said that i gavo him very great pleasure to p. a visit to the district. He diil not look upon it as a very small matter to open a country post otlice. He took an interest in all post otluvs, whether great or small, and he looked to a small oliice in time to become larger, and then a great oliice. II

.vas told that the business of the oilier Hkiroasing, aftd that tlie box a<mad" originally was than occupied, u"d that additional boxes had had to be made. Mas a great pleasure to him to eon. into tile district, which he had ncwr visil<-d before. When he was asked i y do .so by Mr Scott, he had made u, his mind not only to be present at the official opening oi the otlice, but to through part of the district. l> know that in their present memb r they had a man who would leave m stono unturned t u obtain tor them ■ anything that was right, and that h. considered they had a right to have. (Applause.) Ihe value of a such as th' present one was not so much the opening of the post otlice a s th. opportunity afforded a .Minister ot guin_' through thr district, coining face to face with the people, and ascertaining what their requirements were, lie had been furnished with some rather interesting records of their post otlice which he would read to thjcm. Just before leaving Wellington Mr Coop had asked him to rememlver hin to his old friends in Roxburgh.—(Applause.) Mr Coop had told him that Mt J. K. Logan, who was their Inspector of Telegraphs in Otago, and later Chief Telegraph Engineer for th dominion, had shown him an interesting relic in the shape 0 f a rough sort of telephone which Mr Coop believe was the very one used to connect with Teviot, and was first used for commercial purposes in the dominion. That was in 1577. Reference had been mado to his fitness for the position he occupied, which he very much appreciated. llr hoped he would continue to occupy that position in their estimation. Ho wished to point out that the Postal Department was still a progressive department, and he proceeded * to mention a large numbjer of improve nients effected, concessions made, and facilities afforded by the present <>ovornment. lie said that in twelvt months ended March 31, HU3. tlicj had constructed over 'JtW miles of telephone lines, and that during the same [>eriod no fewer than 1 <»,('■<)t> subscribers had been added to the telephone li>ts. They hail not yet been able to reduce the telephone rates, and he could not point to the day when they would be able to do so. He complimented the pcoph on the appearance of the children, am! declared the otlice open.—(Applause). 1 ho lion, gentleman then read THE HISTORY OF THE OFFICE. The earliest records of the General I'ost Otlice show that a post office was opened at Roxburgh untie the name oi " Teviot " in 1 Mill. The name was changed to " Roxburgh " in lbf7(B. Th-' first Postmaster recorded is Mr W . M. Kinross, who was appointed on the Ist January, ISO.'!. Mr Ixinr iss's successors Have been : R. McKav, appoint d Ist Septf, 1 W. Wil 'ie, appointed Ist Januarv 1868. C. D. Fearon, appointed Ist June 1871. A. Halo, appointed 34th March 1873. A C'oop, appointed Ist September

1573. J. -Redmond, appointed Ist Jam. ary, lyuG. H. Fdser, appointed 11th April, 1900. 11. W. lviernan, appointed; 29tb l'ebruarv, iyO>.

ii. N. Falck, appointed loth August, litii:

\Y. d. Pratt, appointed 15th February, 11*1—. T. -1. McCawe (present Postmaster,, appointed 17th October, l'.H3. .Mr Coop was Postmaster at Roxburgh for over thirty-two years, *nd was closely associated with the district for nearly forty years. 11 • cam nieuccd his departmental career as ; telegraph linesman in W'S his headquarters being Alexandra South, and his section of the line embracing the whole of the district between Clarkes ville and Queenstawn. ihiritig his spare time Mr Coop learned telegraphy, and became sullieiently proficient to 1-e given relieving duty at some o. the country offices : and tliis hd \- his appointment as I o-tmaster, Roxburgh. Mr Coop retired on a wellearned pension in P.'uo. In ISO- some ot the miners oa th way to the Dunstan g ddliehL were impeded by the swollen state of the Teviot stream. I hey whiled away thi-ii" time searching for gold m the vicinity, and were so successful that thev remained wle-re they were. Ihe township of feviot then sprang up on the east side of th- Clut'na River a' its junction with the Teviot Creek. Ihe name "'feviot ' was given after the place of that name in Scotland. I'll, site of the township lias since Income a mass of tailings, with onl\ one or two solitary trees to math the s l' ot - . . Postal communication was estal lishcd with the Otago goldtields ns soon as population bogan to lloc >■ to them. In the first instance, the mailuer. carried by the primit ix.- meaiiot pack horses. They reached leviot sometimes along the ridges on the ea-t side of the Molyneiix, and fee .picntly along the west side. The c.-iirier on horse back forded tlie river, towing the mail boat. ihis metho oi conveyance del not, however, la-u long: for a 11 ' w months after the discovery of the Ihinstan goldiields « mail was conveyed by Cobn and Co. coaches tin • ■ times a week. flio mail service route, between Lawrence and Ihinstan, up to the eiu of wa- along the hno 1 > i<— ; a,-:d it was to Long \ allc\ the miners i tl.e 'feviot district walked every >un day for their correspond! ive. The post office at Lon_r \ alley from 1 to 1>73 was in charge o! Mr Adam Me lxen/ie, who n sided near Mi I'ahl win s home-tead. Some of the early i r-1 lent- recall tile names «>t Mr Matthew 11 ax aid .Mr Rob n Lewis as being the lire, mail carriers in tin district. Hurint IMiO, a Mr Sniithan was the con'rai tor for th-- eon\cyance oi mails irom Lawrence to Oueenstown via Lxiot Mr Sniithan also conveyed ih ie from Cromwell to Albert lown and Cnrdrona. Th - next contractor wa Mi lleiirv, who iu-ld the contract un til it was taken up by Messrs Chaplain and Hastings. When Mi t lia. lain retired from the tirni the vvor was carriud on by Messrs I'astings a'id Company. On- oi two principal dri vers of this company was Mr Hugh Craig, who afterwards I*-came manager ot the coa< h service, and later oi. head of the firm of Craig and Company, the (Ontractors for the principal mail sen ices in th ■ 0ta.,0 Central dwtrict for tlie last thirty-live vears. Ihe frequency of the mail sirvice to Roxburgh at lust was twiceweekly ; but when the railwax liawas comph'ti d to Milton, it was in creased to thrice-weekly. As the rail way approached Lawrence, the days and hours of departure and .arrival o>

mails were altered to suit the changed circumstance-. For a time the coach which connected with the tram at Wait ah ina came only as far a? Ft trick, arriving ut that place at about 7 p.m., and .Mr Coop, the Postmaster at Roxburgh, was accustomed to borrow a horse and conveyance from anv good-natured neighbour and proceed to Kttrick for the mail, which wae sorted and delivered the same night. A daily mail service to Roxburgh was established in Subsequent to l s 7tl, Roxburgh was an important mail-distributing centre, all the mail matter for -nuth of Milton and inter mediate oil ices being rcsorbd. and bags made up at Roxburgh for al thu places along the route. 1 his ar r.*ingMrnent ceased when the Otago Central railway line neared Alexdra South. For some of the information about thu history of the district the department is indebted to several early settlers —namely, Messrs /Thomas Andrew, J. P., Jabe/ Burton, .1.1'.. Thomas Coop, John Urummonl, > Cordon, William Morrin, Robert M. Smith, J. Henry Waigth. Andrew \ ountr, and Mesdames \oung and Heron.

A telegraph otlice was op. lied a Roxburgh at the beginning of l s <>*. and n money-order otlice and savingsbank were opened in 180' J. An office of two rooms was erected oil the site of the present otlice in 1>74. In that year a new building was erected, the work being done by Mr Robert M. Smith. When the building was demolished in March last, a sealed bottle was discovered iu the north-west corner, containing ;

copy of the Tuapeka Times, dated tlu Bth April, 1 >7l, and the following memorandum

" Roxburgh, April iJth, 1 5 74. " On this day, in the reign of Her Most Gracious Majesty tjueen Victoria, Sir .lames l'erguson, Bait, K.C.8., etc., being Governor of NewZealand, and James Ma-caiuirew. Esquire, Superintendent of the Province of Otago : the foundation stone of this Post and Telegraph Office was laid by Mrs Thomas Coop (Postmaster's wife). "The contractor for the whole building being Robert [Marshal Smith. The mason work Iw-ing done under the supervision of Henry Rees. With this is enclosed a cop\ of the Tuapeka Times, bearing Jati Bth April, 1874." The copy of the TuapeVa Times i now in the department s possession. 1 is observed that the paper contain ai advertisement inserted by Mr | C I.emon (afterwards Dr Lemon), Gene ral Manager, New Zealand Telegraphs, inviting applications for the position of telegraph cadet. In 1900, an addition was made t' the office portion of the building, and the increased accommodation has met requirement! up to the present. Tbc

building now erected to meet the growing requirements of the place is of wood and two storeys. It is a combined oliice and Postmaster's residence. The oliice portion is con lined to the ground floor, and comprises an emtrance porch, Bft, <sin square, a public olliee ISft by lift. a telephone bureau room Ift by -Iff* tiin, a Postmas ter's room lift (iin by M't bin, a strong room Oft by -Ift, a mail room 34 ft by 16ft, a telephone < exchange room, I:2ft Oin by Sft Oin, and a private box lobby 7ft Oia by sft in. The mail room' has a side entrance porch for the rec ipt and despatch oi mails ; also a back entrance. The residential portion, which has a separate entrance porch, is confined to the upper floor, and comprises a diningroom lift Gin by lift Gin. a sittingroom liiin by tii* by lift, three bed rooms li'fi bin by lift Oin. 1-ft by liift Oin, and I2;"t by Mt, respectively, a kitchen 1-ft by loft,, n scullery 7ti by Ift Oin, a pantry 7ft by 3ft, a bath room 7ft Oin by olt (iin, and a linwi closet 7ft Oin by :Ift. The width of the building iexclusive of porches, is '-".'ft Oin, and the depth I'.'ft '.'in. An outbuilding provides ;1 washhouse aim the usual ofh-'-e and domestic conveni. eTU/es. 'flie contractor for the work was Mr R. Christie, of Roshn; and the contract price was C 1 G.">o. Tlie follow ing ligures in licat.- the in crease in ;>.ll branches of the depart meat's business at Roxburgh during the last ten years The number of articles posted in P.lii- was 71 1. and in P.'PJ. "»7, > J- 1 . Articles delivered 110,370 and 11l, s fH\ Tho postage revenue amounted in I'.M to CJ'.Ci, and in P.'PJ to , £ l'.'o. Li l'.'-i-, monev'-orders were issued an-, paid ot the value of £l3ll, and in I'.'lJ, I'loOn. hi P.'i'J, savings-bank transactions amounted to t's3.">n, and in P.*l- to l'.l'J'.K In P.Mt'J, sN7'f5 N 7'f telegrams were forwaided of the value of t'l73, and in I'.'LJ, Ot'--J of L'J , .»7. In li»f• J telegrams receiv ed f. ,r delivery to resi-n'-n.s muni erisl -land m ltll'J, ,*)f7ltt. 1 P addition LJ.r-tHI telegrams a yeai are received for onward transmission. fhe Chairman read apologies from the Lrimn Minister, lion. da-. A lie,. 11 oa. Leas r. Messrs Si'ley, Malcolm. Staihini. 11 onisoii (M.l'.i. W. I'ownie Stewart (Mayor i-i Dunedini, and A. Morit/on. Mr Scott, who wa- received with au plause, said it gave him pleasure to be present at tl.e opening oi the new post oliice. h. li he pa:his !ir-1 visit t• ■ Roxburgh in search of Parliamentar\ honors hi- alii*tion had be.-n drawn to the dilapidated building which was doing duty as a p.,-t oilie -. lb- had been trying to get the Oovcrnment to promise a new building, and that day the% had th cousini.matioii of their de-ire in tL new post oliice. lie hoped that ii the future the building would not I large enough for ihe r ;quirenieuts oi the district. There was a large e* tent of country which could fx* settled. and tli- i io\erimifiit desired i< improve their puistal facilities. H - con eluded by expressing the hope that tin children would live to .-ee a large p.is! oliice in the town. (Applause. Cheers were lustily given for tin Postinaster-fleneial, Mr Scott, and the Max or. after which th - children of tii

Roxburgh "Miot.l, under the charge o the teachers, pane the National An them. The lion. Mr Rhodes then tin luc id the door of the post ollice ;u admitted the public for business. After the conclusion of the opesnnu ceremony the Ministerial party, along v i-h tli' 1 \ isitors an i several members ■■i the Reception Committee wre con \e\>il pi-r motors to ton! Creek, u here thev w. re treated to afternoon tea and fruit at th ■ residence of M ,). Rennett's. an it'-m which was muci appreciated by th.* party. After lbphotographer iiacl got a " snap ' o' 'he party, and cheers had be n i. for Mis Kenn.-tt* and Miss P.urnard, the j <-turu journey u:i- made to Roxburgh. l)i:i'l TA'HONS. In tho evening a couple of deputations waited on the Postmaster-Gen. ral in connection with the telephone and earli r mail with ;l delivery. Messrs A. Laloli and R. I'ockburu brought under the notice of the Port master l leneral the need of a telephoiii exchange here, and the erection of i

wire between Lawrence and Roxl)urgh. i 11. v [jointed out the inconvenience eau-i-d and time lost through havin. to use thf telegraphic wire for teU phonic communications. \ cry often in urgent cases tlr wire \\a< already in use and they had to wait. Ihe dt loaitment required twelve subscribers before they would fix up an exchange, but it was rather ditlicult to get tlia number. The exchange here would n-> rcjiiiiv an extra cad t, and tbey ho ( ed iie would look into the matter and do his best to have the wire and exchange erected. In reply, the Postmaster - General said the department must have

guarantee of s-ullicient business to warrant the outlay, hence the ro juisite number of subscribers required for erection of an exchange. However, he would look into the matter. 1 hc\ should make every ettart to get th* twelve subscribers, and then the d. partment would carry out the work. When the Estimates were being p.e pared these matters would be con- * der <d, and where possible metallic cir cuiti would be i*sta,lled. Messrs J, Bennetts and R. t . A. MacL'hail uiged on ilia Postmaster(ien j'al the necessity of an earlier dplivery ot mails, and also asked for a rural delivery. It was pointed out that motor services were now running, and the question arose why not tin j earlier delivery of mail, The same company was running a motor sor\ ice as was carrying the mails per coach, and it was thought that perhaps it could be induced to carry the mail per motor, Mr MacPhail said this \v as considered an age of progress, yet their mail was delivered the same todav as it was twenty-live years ago. | In reply, the Minister said that the contract was let for three years, but if he could arrange with the contractor to carry them per motor, at, a reasonable rate, he would do so. When the next tenders were called for it would be for a motor service. He advised them to have a chat with the Postmaster re a rural delivery, and look up the regulations. If sullicient inducement offered for the establishment of a delivery he would do so, but they would have to guarantee tha boxes mentioned.

His Worship mentioned that their greatest needs were road? and railways, and from their through

the district recently, he thought th? had the support of the Prime Minister and Hon. F. M. B. Fisher on these matters. He urged that when th. various matters affecting this district came before the Cabinet the hon. gentleman would, as far as his judgment guided him, give them his support. The Minister said the Mayor was asking him to do an awkward thing. If the Minister of Put (lie Works 'brought down recommendations in a certain direction concerning matters in his own department, he (Mr Rhodes) could lmrdly oppose them. Mr Scott, having explained what h thought the Mayor meant, the Minister said that if the Minister of Public Works brought down a proposal for a vote for roads he would lie pleased to support it . ( Applause.) Mr Scott thanked the PostnnißterGcnera for receiving the deputations, and after a f'w minutes cb.it they dispersed.

THE SOt IA 1.. I.u the evening a reception social was held in the Hall, when there was a large gathering present, the seating at the tables being all tilled up. Ihe tables looked very well witn the line array ot flowers and fruit, and word ot praise is due to the ladies who had charge ot this department. His Worship the Mayor presided. Ihe first toast on the list was that ot " The King," and tins was loyally honoured. Mrs IVnnell s singing oi "My Memories " was well received, after which His Worship pr >pos. d thtoast, of " Our C,nests." and in doing so said they were all pleased to sei him anions them. lie was not, a stranger to them from a political point of view , and since he entered into polities they had seen his actions, and the\ would all agree that he was consistent, and gave his voice and vote for the betterment of the Dominion, as a whole.—l Applause. | Tiie Minister, on rising to reply, w a s verv well received. He said that looking back on the fifteen years h had been in Parliament he did not think he would reverse a vote oi hiif he had th- opportunity ot doing so. Although his party as a wholwas accused of opposing what his opponents were pleased to ca 1 procursive legislation, they could point to a ver\' f.-w votes of his that were opposed to that legisla:ion. The. opponents oi his i all \ were stumping the country abusing th- party in no measur,d terms. lie hon. gentleman w.nt on to refer to s'Veral statements made b v Sir Joseph War 1 on variouoccasions, the accuracy of which he combated. H.e also refuted the statements made bv the members opposed to him in polities. Continuing. he said that he was glad he had seen tlie district, and what it could produce. lie ha ! had some idea ot it f, ,;d v.l.at lie he; rd. but lie had never realised that it was so good. >pcaaing on fruit he said Mr Massey had s i a' ! art t-'.* 1 "" to provide cool storage for fruit before ehipnt>nt. As to tle-ir local railway, the progress waslow, as it vv a - jji two or three other lines m Ota.!«., which he mentioned, but the cause of that was a scarcity, of labour. A the winter came ( n more men would be available, and the work would !v pushed on. He couli. see what ben. lit the Law leiire-Rox burgh line would be f<< them if it w a~ extended to Roxburgh. lie could as sure th m that he had f >ruled a N (>r > favourable impression as to the ex tension of that line, though he could not tell them what he vva- goint to do i.u the Cabinet relative to it. Ihe speaker concluded by thanking those present in the way in which they h ;i < received the toast of his health. Mr 1. Andrew, in a short compb montary speech, thanked Mr Rhodefor hi- very interesting sp <vh, and pr ipo-eii a verv hearty vote c>f thankto him, which was responded to bv hearty applause. Refreshments vver then dispensed by a vv tiling band o workers, this item proving an etiio.

able break in the proceeding;-:. Aftei supper Mr •). (; ilehrist s::n_ r " Thora ' in a pleasing manner, : ,nd then Mr Macl'hail proposed the toast of the " Parliament of New Zealand. It doing so In- twitti'd the Covernmcn with the Waste of time over the Ad-dtess-in-Reply, and eonsidered tha' matters of great interest were pushed through too quickly at the close of ;| 1( i session. He considered the repeal ot the second ballot a retrograde step and commented on 'he fact o: members oi Parliament changing their political views without appealing to the electors. The Parliament of toduy did not represent the electors of the Dominion ; but he J must say that it would hear comparison with any other parliament in the English speaking world. Mr R. Scott, who was received wit applause, expressed his giTat pleasure at be in.' anions* them, anel with being a mcmb.'i' of the Government of tin dav. lie hope 1 the Ministers tirsi visit would result in some good to the district. Replying to the remarks of the proposer of the toast, he sai i perhaps it was true that a good do a l of time was wasted in the Addiess-in-RepH, and i' might be cut down by one half ; but it was the only occasion in which private members had the right to speak on anythiig peltaining to the wellare of the Dominion. It was wrong to curtail their right of freedom of speech. As to the repeal of the second 'ballot there were very few members in the House who wotiH support the second ballo It brought in too much personal element, and that was objectionable. 1 belijved members of Parliament were actuated by the best motives, and w. of New Zealand should be proud of our Parliament. He hoped to see ou> country prosper, and become one oi the best governed and happiest on earth,—(Applause,) Mr •!. Rose proposed the toast o

" Local Industries," which was responded to by Mr J. Bennetts, and Mrs Pennell sang '* Red Roses," for which she received an undeniable en core. The toast of " The l.adies was ably proposed by Mr J. 11. Vaigih, junr., Mr A. G. Laloli responding on behalf of the ladies ; and Mr T. Michelle was entrusted with the toast

of " The Press," wVich was responded to by Mr Rattray. The function closed with a toast in honor of "The Chairman," proposed by the Hon. Rhodes, and duly acknowledged,

Miss McMullin, A.T.C.L., played the accompainments during the evening in her usual accomplish d manner, and prior to the commencement of the social the Brass Band played a number | of selections in' front o* the hall.